CenterPoint Energy is aware of and monitoring the tropical disturbance in the Bay of Campeche

Rhea-AI Summary

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) announced it is monitoring a tropical disturbance (Invest 98L) in the Bay of Campeche that could affect South Texas by week's end. Current projections indicate minimal impact on the Greater Houston area, primarily increasing rain chances for Friday and Saturday.

The company highlighted its summer storm readiness plan and recent Hurricane Beryl-inspired Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI) improvements, including: installation of 32,000+ storm-resilient poles, undergrounding of 400+ miles of power lines, deployment of 5,150+ automated reliability devices, and installation of 100+ weather monitoring stations across its service territory.

Positive

• Completed installation of 32,000+ stronger storm-resilient poles for extreme weather conditions
• Undergrounded over 400 miles of power lines improving grid resiliency
• Installed 5,150+ automated reliability devices to reduce outage impact
• Deployed 100+ weather monitoring stations for enhanced storm preparation
• Launched improved bilingual cloud-based Outage Tracker system

Negative

• None.

• Current projections show very little probability of significant impacts for the Greater Houston area beyond increased rain chances
• Any potential weather impacts would occur Friday and Saturday
• Customers and the public are encouraged to sign-up for Power Alert Service for updates about friends, family and community locations

HOUSTON, Aug. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy's Meteorology, Emergency Planning and Response and Electric Operations teams are aware of and monitoring a tropical disturbance (Invest 98L) moving across the Bay of Campeche Thursday. Based on current projections, the path of the storm could come near the South Texas coast by the end of the week. The storm is anticipated to primarily increase rain chances for the Greater Houston area.

While the exact forecast specifics are still to be determined, CenterPoint is ready to take action with its summer storm readiness plan, if needed. CenterPoint will take further action if the disturbance continues to organize, gain strength, and if models align on a different track. 

"CenterPoint's Meteorology team has been monitoring this disturbance as it moves across Mexico and toward the South Texas coast. We will continue to monitor, review new models and data and leverage our technology assets so we are prepared," said Matt Lanza, CenterPoint's Manager of Meteorology. "Right now, we are anticipating a slight increase in rain chances for the Greater Houston area on Friday and Saturday."

"While it's early and weather models can change, we want our customers, communities and the public to know that we are prepared to deploy our summer storm readiness plan should the need arise. While CenterPoint stands ready to quickly activate, we encourage everyone to keep an eye on the weather as we head toward the weekend," said Darin Carroll, Senior Vice President of CenterPoint's Electric Business.

CenterPoint's summer storm readiness plan
To prepare and respond to storms this summer, the actions CenterPoint may take include: 

• Mobilizing vegetation management workers: Deploying local and contract personnel to clear hazardous vegetation from power lines in the Greater Houston area ahead of storm landfall to prevent outages.
• Coordinating with government officials: Providing regular updates to federal, state, county and city officials about our pre-storm activities and readiness posture. 
• Conducting outreach to critical care customers: Reaching out to identified Critical Care Residential and Chronic Condition Residential electric customers by email, phone or text. 
• Sharing information and updates: Providing safety and preparedness information directly with customers via email, phone or text, across social media platforms and other channels to keep customers informed and prepared.  
• Organizing additional call center staffing: Securing additional call center staff to handle a higher volume of calls during the storm and limit wait times.  

Actions since Hurricane Beryl: Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative
Since launching the GHRI following Hurricane Beryl last summer, CenterPoint executed a historic series of critical resiliency improvements across the company's 12-county Greater Houston area service territory. The company completed the following actions:

• Installed or replaced more than 32,000 stronger, more storm-resilient poles built to withstand extreme winds;
• Undergrounded more than 400 miles of power lines to improve overall resiliency;
• Installed more than 5,150 additional automated reliability devices and intelligent grid switching devices to reduce the impact of outages and improve restoration times;
• Cleared more than 7,000 miles of higher-risk vegetation near power lines to reduce storm-related outages;
• Installed more than 100 weather stations across its service territory to improve situational awareness and storm preparation;
• Donated 22 backup generators to critical facilities across the company's 12-county service area; and
• Launched a new and improved, cloud-based Outage Tracker to provide real-time updates on outages and restoration efforts in English and Spanish.

Important weather station facts and locations
CenterPoint has installed more than 100 weather monitoring stations ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season. The weather monitoring stations were installed in strategic locations across CenterPoint's 12-county Greater Houston area electric service territory. The devices take measurements every 2-5 minutes, including humidity levels, wind speed, temperature and rainfall.

For more information on CenterPoint's GHRI actions and improvements ahead of hurricane season, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/TakingAction.

Sign-up for Power Alert Service to get updates about family and friends
CenterPoint electric customers are encouraged to enroll in the company's Power Alert Service^® to receive outage details, estimated restoration times and customer-specific restoration updates via phone call, text or email. Customers can add up to five additional email addresses or phone numbers to allow family and friends to receive outage information. 

Have a plan to stay safe
CenterPoint is encouraging all of its customers to prepare and have a plan to stay safe during this week's weather. Customers can get storm-related safety tips at CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter — available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Customers can also stay up to date on outages with CenterPoint's new and improved, cloud-based Outage Tracker, now available in English and Spanish. The Outage Tracker is built to handle increased traffic during storms, is mobile-friendly, ADA-compliant and allows customers to see outages by county, city and zip code.

For the latest updates, follow CenterPoint on X and visit CenterPointEnergy.com/ActionCenter. 

About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is a multi-state electric and natural gas delivery company serving approximately 7 million metered customers across Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. The company is headquartered in Houston and is the only Texas-domiciled investor-owned utility. As of June 30, 2025, the company had approximately $44 billion in assets. With approximately 8,300 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been serving customers for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

For more information, contact:
Communications
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy

FAQ

What is CenterPoint Energy (CNP) doing to prepare for the tropical disturbance in August 2025?

CenterPoint Energy is monitoring the disturbance through its Meteorology team and has activated its summer storm readiness plan, which includes mobilizing vegetation management workers, coordinating with officials, and conducting outreach to critical care customers.

What improvements has CenterPoint Energy made since Hurricane Beryl through its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative?

CenterPoint has installed 32,000+ storm-resilient poles, undergrounded 400+ miles of power lines, added 5,150+ automated reliability devices, cleared 7,000+ miles of vegetation, and installed 100+ weather stations.

How can CNP customers stay informed about power outages during the tropical disturbance?

Customers can enroll in Power Alert Service for updates via phone, text, or email, and use the new bilingual cloud-based Outage Tracker to monitor outages by county, city, and zip code.

What is the expected impact of the tropical disturbance on CenterPoint Energy's Houston service area?

Current projections show minimal impact on the Greater Houston area, with only slightly increased rain chances expected for Friday and Saturday.

How many weather monitoring stations has CenterPoint Energy installed across its service territory?

CenterPoint has installed over 100 weather monitoring stations that measure humidity, wind speed, temperature, and rainfall every 2-5 minutes across its 12-county Greater Houston service area.